To examine local dropout trends the Oklahoma City Public Schools (OCPS) documented the numbers and described the characteristics of those who dropped out in the 1985-86 school year. Local dropout rates were compared to those of other school districts and the nation as a whole. A dropout was defined as any student who is under age 18 and has not…

The national dropout rate has remained at about 20% for the last decade. However, disparities in the definition of dropouts and in data collection have caused national dropout figures to vary. Researchers agree that students from areas of large minority populations with fewer English-speaking students, and those living in poverty are at risk of…

This manual presents a viable school program for grades K-12 to help reduce the number of school dropouts. Characteristics of potential dropouts and alternative programs to meet the needs of these students are given. Although this manual is divided into sections for elementary (K-6) and secondary (7-12) school students, many of the ideas presented…

Efforts addressed at the pervasive school dropout problem in New York City received a boost in 1978 with the development of large scale, centrally initiated programs to reduce the number of high school dropouts. Based on the recommendations of two studies, the New York City Board of Education's Division of High Schools established outreach centers…

This scale is designed to aid in identifying dropout prone students. The instrument is a useful aid to professional judgment and may be used with upper elementary or junior high school students. The scale items are grouped in four sections: academic ability and performance, negative identification with education, family and socio-economic status,…

This booklet provides the knowledge and tools college and university students and their professors need to develop a partnership with organizations that work with children who are potential dropouts. Section 1 looks at childhood in the 1990s and section 2 introduces partners who can help potential dropouts. Section 3 considers issues related to…

One of the six national goals in the United States is to achieve a 90 percent graduation rate by the year 2000. In the last 50 years, high school graduation has become the norm. Concurrent with the new expectation of high school graduation came the dominance of the word "dropout" to describe those without diplomas. Many Americans view…

A study was done of pre-admission or early performance predictors of persistence versus academic failure among baccalaureate program nursing students. As part of a larger longitudinal research project, 155 students from four successive classes of students admitted to the program were studied, using multiple predictor and criterion variables. The…

Texas schools were required by educational reform legislation to identify students at risk of dropping out and to notify their parents. The Austin Independent School District developed operational definitions for the State criteria. For grades 9-12 the brief descriptors for these definitions are age, achievement, Fs, and the Texas Educational…

Using the state-mandated Texas at-risk criteria to identify students at-risk for dropping out, the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) followed those students for three years to determine the accuracy of the mandated state criteria. The study focuses on the classification and follow-up of 25,587 students in 1987-88, 25,292 students…

As part of the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students (NLTS), this study examined characteristics of and educational programs and services provided to secondary students (N=589) classified as learning disabled (LD) in the 1985-86 school year. Difficulties in performing basic functional skills were identified in about…

Transferring from one high school to another may be an important alternative to dropping out. While the public school dropout rate is over four times the dropout rate in Catholic schools, the percentages of transfer students reveal a different scenario. With transfer rates nearly three times their drop out rates, the Catholic schools' reported…

The study provides an overview of what national surveys and the literature say about school dropouts, defined as persons who are neither enrolled in school nor high school graduates. For the last decade, the dropout rate for youth age 16-24 has remained roughly the same, about 13-14 percent. Hispanics, Blacks, and economically and educationally…

An informal study was conducted of the courses selected by ninth grade students who later dropped out of high school. Longitudinal data were available for high school students in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District, from 1978-79 to 1982-83. The courses selected by high-risk students in ninth grade, including extracurricular activities…

This selective review of literature related to school dropouts looks at the issue of high school dropouts, emphasizing the disproportionate number of black female dropouts. Several examples illustrate that the reasons given for dropping out vary greatly depending upon the source and that reasons given by dropouts and their parents are at variance…